Han Qiu froze for a moment, sensing something unusual.
He looked down at his palm and saw strands of purple lightning, fine as hairs, coiling around it and flickering faintly without pause.
"Could there be another hidden effect?"
Curious, he raised a hand and gently stroked the Silver Moon Spirit Deer beside him, which was gazing at him docilely.
But the instant his fingertips touched the spirit deer, something unexpected happened!
Swish!
Every hair on the Silver Moon Spirit Deer's body stood on end. Its whole body stiffened slightly, a faint daze clouded its clear eyes, and its legs grew weak. It looked numb and powerless all over.
Han Qiu's pupils contracted as he realized what had happened!
"Good grief!"
His face was full of astonishment.
The Radiant Thunder Holy Body did more than simply boost all attributes!
It also came with a hidden lightning paralysis effect!
And the paralysis was far stronger and subtler than he had imagined. It took effect on contact, without a sound or a trace!
"Absurd's mother opened the door for absurd-this was absurd all the way home!"
Han Qiu clicked his tongue inwardly.
Boosts, increased speed, a tougher body, group buffs, extraordinary endurance, self-healing and recovery...
And now it even had a close-range lightning paralysis effect!
What could he say?
One ring was stronger than six!
This first Soul Skill was ridiculously versatile!
The first Soul Skill was more powerful than he had imagined, and even Han Qiu himself was astonished.
But such a heaven-defying ability came at the cost of considerable Soul Power.
With his current compressed, pure Soul Power, he could cover at most seven or eight people within fifty meters if he spread the buff over a large area.
Still, Han Qiu thought to himself that, as a proper old six, he should always keep a few trump cards up his sleeve and never expose all his strength.
"And can this kind of boost only be applied to people who aren't much higher or lower in level than me, or can it boost even a Douluo? If it's the latter, that would be utterly broken. You could practically call it a rule-type skill."
Han Qiu pondered for a moment, then promptly used Radiant Thunder Holy Body on the Silver Moon Spirit Deer beside him.
Purple light slowly enveloped the Silver Moon Spirit Deer. Its body swelled slightly, its snow-white fur shimmered with flowing light, and a far more powerful presence surged toward him as wisps of lightning coiled around its body.
"Looks like I can't give it the full seventy percent boost. Right now, I can only manage twenty or thirty percent." Han Qiu silently sensed that this single buff had consumed a quarter of his Soul Power.
The Silver Moon Spirit Deer had roughly three thousand years of cultivation, putting it on par with a Soul Elder above level thirty. It was only natural that the effect would be greatly diminished when he applied a boost across such a large gap in cultivation realms.
Han Qiu understood that support-type Soul Skills were limited by differences in cultivation realm.
There was no way in the world that a support Soul Master in the teens could affect a Soul Douluo in the eighties or nineties with a single boosting skill.
He did not know whether the Douluo Continent had explicitly established this rule, but judging by common sense, it was impossible.
If a support Soul Master in the teens could influence a Soul Douluo's battle, or even a Titled Douluo's, the balance of power across the continent would have fallen into complete chaos long ago.
To effectively buff a Soul Douluo, one had to be at least a level-sixty support Soul Emperor.
Han Qiu guessed that his Radiant Thunder Holy Body could still provide a substantial boost to Soul Ancestors at level forty-five or below. But if their cultivation realm was any higher, the boost would probably weaken considerably, limited by his own Soul Power reserves.
If the target's cultivation realm was close to his own, the boost could almost double their attributes.
Most importantly, the lightning paralysis effect was seriously heaven-defying!
That point alone was enough to call it heaven-defying.
After a series of tests and some thought, Han Qiu finally grasped all the abilities of his first Soul Skill.
He had to admit, the rewards from this trip to the Soul Hunting Forest were truly abundant.
He had obtained a seven-thousand-year Soul Ring, his body had undergone a transformation that shed its old bones and replaced them with new ones, his humanoid Martial Soul had awakened this powerful group support Soul Skill, and its potential had been fully drawn out.
A thought even arose in Han Qiu's mind: the humanoid form of his light-and-electricity Martial Soul could be called the most perfect support Martial Soul.
Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda? Heavenly Heart Begonia? Once my Martial Soul grows, what will those Martial Souls amount to?
Radiant Thunder Holy Body covered every aspect of support.
The Martial Soul itself could heal injuries and restore Soul Power, while Radiant Thunder Holy Body could raise every attribute across the board and came with a lightning paralysis effect for control.
Counting it all up, it had almost no weaknesses.
The only drawback was that the second form consumed far too much Soul Power.
With a thought, the humanoid form vanished, and a lion of white light wreathed in purple lightning appeared behind him. It was the second form of Han Qiu's electric-light Martial Soul-the Radiant Thunder Holy Lion.
"Radiant Thunder Holy Lion, Possession!"
With Han Qiu's low shout, the illusory Radiant Thunder Holy Lion lunged forward, and a torrent of intertwined white and purple light and lightning instantly engulfed him.
Hum!
Violent power surged into his body through his limbs and bones, utterly unlike the gentle, spreading group boost of Radiant Thunder Holy Body.
This time, it was a pure single-target possession. The power of light and lightning fused directly with his flesh, and muffled rumbles like peals of thunder came from between his bones.
Fine, pale-gold patterns appeared across Han Qiu's skin, threaded with wandering purple lightning. His hair lifted slightly, strand by strand, and a ferocious might erupted from him.
He clenched his fist, lightning crackling in his palm. The sense of strength was several times greater than with Radiant Thunder Holy Body.
Radiant Thunder Holy Body provided a buff, while Radiant Thunder Holy Lion Possession directly fused his Martial Soul Origin and his physical body into one!
Radiant Thunder Holy Body leaned toward group support, but Radiant Thunder Holy Lion Possession focused on close-quarters combat. His strength, speed, and physical defense soared once more. The purple lightning flowing over his body could not only paralyze opponents; it would also erupt in an impact when he touched an enemy.
He looked up at a giant tree nearby, so thick that four or five people would have to join hands to encircle it. A thought stirred, and he stepped forward.
Swish!
He shot forward, moving so fast that only a faint purple-and-white afterimage remained. His clenched fist, wrapped in violent lightning, slammed straight into the trunk.
Boom!
The giant tree shook violently. Great patches of bark split apart, countless wood chips flew, and a deep fist print sank into the trunk. Fine cracks spread all the way up the tree.
"Good grief, just in the possession state, my strength is a good deal higher than with Radiant Thunder Holy Body alone." Han Qiu withdrew his fist, amazement flashing in his eyes.
Radiant Thunder Holy Body buffed his companions and was a means of support; Radiant Thunder Holy Lion Possession was his own form for close-quarters killing.
The Silver Moon Spirit Deer beside him took half a step back uneasily, its eyes full of apprehension. It could clearly feel the domineering pressure of a lion beast coming from the young man before it.
Two forms, two uses, Han Qiu quickly reasoned. In the humanoid Martial Soul form, I can activate Radiant Thunder Holy Body for group boosts, healing, and battlefield control, serving as the support core of a team. In the Radiant Thunder Holy Lion form, I can use Martial Soul Possession to become a close-combat fighter and enter the fray myself.
One for support, one for offense, freely interchangeable.
Ordinary Soul Masters' first Soul Skills mostly had just one use.
Yet with a single seven-thousand-year Soul Ring, he had unlocked his Martial Soul's second form and gained two completely different ways to fight.
The only weakness was still the Soul Power consumption. Radiant Thunder Holy Lion Possession consumed considerably more Soul Power than Radiant Thunder Holy Body.
If he maintained it for a long time, even his current compressed Soul Power would not last very long.
In just five seconds!
Han Qiu came out of the fused state.